Happy New Years from the Bar-barians!

We'd like to hear some of your goals and dreams for the coming year! 2010!! Post in the comments. One arms, new personal records, eat better or even just workout more often. What shall we look out for from you in 2010?!

The Technician Strikes Back - Trailer

Don't let people, circumstances or incidents in your life weigh you down. Push Through, Rise Above and Lift the Weight Up Off of You!

Top 10 Moves of 2009 (DOC's top picks)

2009 has been a very good year in terms of fitness accomplishments. So now we are at the end of the year and I'm sure everyone would love to see a video culminating all the hard work & memorable moments of 2009....So here it is. The top 10 moves of 09 presented by production teams for Evolution of Exercise Series, Barbarians, Strictly Bar talk to the whole "Get Familiar" extended family. Now not being on this list does NOT mean you don't put work in, this list reflects the people we were fortunate enough to catch up with & events we were around for. If you feel as though you can do better than something you saw, I invite all to challenge any move. You can have you clip replace any clip on this list. Log on to http://bar-barians.com/ for more details. Enough Talk.... You Gotta C This - DOC

Guinness World Records™ - most consecutive muscle-ups

Alright so we're sponsoring and supporting our Elite Bar-barian brother Jaz from the world famous Bondi Beach, AU in putting down the world record for muscle ups. He's going for 35, crushing his previous record of 25! Hell of a way to kick off the new year! We ask you to wish him the best! CLICK HERE

1st Annual Bar-Commission Thanksgiving Bowling Night!

Great night! Plenty of food, fun, strikes and gutter balls!



Stay Tuned. Plenty more events to come! More photos posted on the BAR-BARIANS FAN PAGE.

Zakaveli - 100 Push Ups Straight

getting ready for this weekend.

Zakaveli - Requirements Demonstration

Reqs in 2:41

BeastMode Commercial

Extra footage from St. Mary's Park. Did an edit for Beast. The intro and outro are his though. Really like the way it came out! Enjoy

The Manual Final Teaser/Trailer

A teaser showing some footage from '08 that we recently came across and added to "The Manual"

We thank you for all the support with your pre-orders! DVD will be available to order very soon!

Official Barbarians2k Twitter

Want the play by play on Bar-barians? We'll be posting there regularly: BARBARIANS2k TWITTER

Pre-order "The Manual!!!"

The Technician "The Manual" Official Website Pre-order a copy of his DVD today!

Thanx 4 watching

Bare Foot Fitness Article

Bare Foot Fitness' Craig Weller, did an article on bodyweight training and Bar-barians. Check it out HERE.

The Official Teaser - The Technician "The Manual"

The Official Teaser for The Technician's first DVD "The Manual." We're pushing for the end of the month release.

Young Beast of Beastmode

A great video of Young Beast showing us an incredible display of strength!

Requirement Video 2 - Dawalli

A hard go by Dawalli.

Old Videos - New Photos

Every Friday I'll be uploading new old Bar-barians clips plus new pictures to Facebook. Just uploaded two clip and a bunch of photos. Enjoy!
BAR-BARIANS FACEBOOK

Ether from Ukraine

Ether posted his sets inspired by Zakaveli and Beastmode on the Bar-forum. Check out the one arms and control he displays. Very strong individual.



Thanks to Ether

StrictlyBarTalk***ZEF-aka-Zakaveli***EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW...Pt.1

StrictlyBarTalk interviews "ZEF" Co-Founder of THE BAR-BARIANS...(one of the top teams in the Bar-Movement).and a very laid back individual ...until he hits the Bar...to show and prove...why he is a..."BAR-BARIAN...actions are best received when words underline their reality..."My last rep..is like the first...if I can't get the last like the first...I won't try to do it"..(to quote)

Bar-barians on Facebook

-New Photos
-Old Never Before Seen Video Clips
-and the Latest Bar-barians News!

It's an open group so feel free to invite others, post on the discussion board, and write on the walls. Already 177 members and growing fast!

CLICK HERE to go to the group.

Indian man inspired by monkeys and...

Spiderman movies! Never seen a climber put his arm between his legs. lol Can't believe it worked out so well! Also that risky dyno, man!

Learn the Human Flag...

but not from this guy! lol Funny video

Latest Requirement Videos

in no particular order.

PullinGravity


LMTGJ


PumpingRipper


Antokindess


and Milutinke - in training

Rejoining a Gym

So i stopped working out at commercial gyms (except for free passes ;) ) in spring 2007. Since then I've been using scaffolds, pull-up bars, and my minimally equipped home gym. Now I'm probably going to rejoin a gym. I benefitted a lot from limited access to machines, it forced me to be creative. Now though there are a lot of reasons for me to go back to the gym. Here are a few of them:

-assisted pull-up machine: I really like using these for one-arm pulling / chinning practice

-wife is too prissy for outdoor workouts, hopefully she will be able to stick with a routine better with a gym membership (I'll let you know how this works out LOL)

-dumbell pressing: I have adjustible dumbells at home but they are cumbersome, and don't get very heavy. I like to do Arnold Presses, and various dumbell cross pulls. Obviously I'm too weak to do Inverted cross pulls on the rings, but I'm trying to work that motion with dumbells. I'll do the same for maltese to planche pulls.

-Heavier single leg deadlifts: most of the time I use my home barbell for these (which goes up to about 145) and I make them harder by increasing the torque and doing them straight leg style. Now I will also progress torwards heavier weights in a more conventional ROM. I'm still going to avoid very heavy deadlifting on two legs because I feel that it puts one at too much risk of back injury.

-Unfortunately this chain of gyms does NOT have a good place to do glute ham raises. One of my favorite exercises. Maybe I will be able to rig something up.

In the comments let me know how you guys take advantage of all of the equipment at your gyms. I'm always looking for new ideas.

Metin's Requirements

3 Xs in 1 hour.

Strictly Bar Talk

Phorm's Youtube Channel where you'll be hearing from many top players in the bar-movement. Plenty of interviews coming.

Beastmode


D300 speaking on the BIGUN competition

Muscle Up Advice

We've received many emails that go something like this, "I think I'm strong enough to do muscle ups but I'm missing the technique!" Muscle ups can be achieved through momentum but immediately work towards cleaning up the form! The best thing for this type of strong individual, is full on explosive pull-ups. Forget about the chin. If you can pull yourself up to your chest or better yet the stomach, then technique/transition will not be an issue and you will make easy work out of muscle ups.

If you can already do muscle ups and are trying to correct your form, Hold a brick between your feet. The extra weight will keep your legs down and if you kick too much you'll drop the brick.

Just keep on pullin...

Despereately seeking

a video clip of a top quality one legged squat. What I mean by that is a pistol executed without momentum, forward lean, counterweight or back rounding to full depth. If you have such a link please post it in the comments. Also barefoot is preferred as heel elevation makes the movement significantly less challenging.

I would like to post the vids here so we can start establishing a standard for lower body bodyweight strength excellence.

Slow Muscle-ups -> Close to impossible

Here is a photo of legendary bodyweight strength specialist Jasper Benincasa performing what is called the Close To Impossible (CTI for short):



Supposedly this photo was not taken midswing or with Jasper standing on a block, it is a STATIC hold! Now let's put aside for a second whether or not this is true, instead lets take it as a goal (even if it is possibly unattainable). We can try to progress from a slow muscle-up on the bar torwards the CTI first by performing a slow bar muscle-up with a wider and wider grip until we are doing it with the arms almost straight and then once this becomes easy if ever we can start doing it with the arms straight and a narrower grip. Or we can try to progress from a victorian on the bar torwards this goal by gradually lowering the body whilst maintaining distance from the bar.

These progressions are too advanced to be attempted by most anyone I know anytime soon but they illustrate in a general sense another way that torque can be used to make any bodyweight exercise almost impossiblly difficult. For more on torque and bodyweight sttrength check these past posts: Generally, with regard to pistols

Livewire and friends in NYC

These guys are nuts, it was very scary and exciting to watch them do their thing in TSP:



after the jump see more from their trip and some of the Barbairians with a dedication to P

Unreal Power

see if you can figure out the "secret" to Yuri's strength here.

True Ninja Warrior

watch UnlimitedClifferno4 demolish the Sasuke replica course:



This guy is very strong:



if you watch his other videos you will see that he also does some specific training for the obstacle course especially the cliffhanger and salmon ladder.

The Technician '09 - "The Manual" - Official Trailer

Bar-barians on Fitness Black Book

Fitness Black Book is a site that knows the real deal on fitness. They really did their research on us and wrote up an awesome article! Thank you for taking your time to do this. We very much appreciate it. This inspires us to work harder and harder and take it to the next level! Article below:

FITNESS BLACK BOOK

Competition Updates

Zakaveli showed up on Zef-time late.

Tech and Hit tied for first place.

B-Rock threw down hard and should be up there as well!

Summer Tournaments

B-Xtreme comp was held over the weekend on Sun. The Technician took home first place for the Bar-Commission.

Next week is the BigUn tournament. Rumors been spreading that Zakaveli might enter and that all hell could break loose on the bar!!

We'll keep you posted!

Beast and Zef - Weighted Muscle Ups

Don't let people, circumstances or incidents in your life weigh you down. Push Through, Rise Above and Lift the Weight Up Off of You!



Special Thanks to:

-Beast for coming through
-Zakaveli for the video concept
-Metin Dabak for making the beats
-Rick Seedman for filming, directing and editing
-and DOC for helping film

Advanced Ring Elements

Thanks to Coach Sommer at gymnasticbodies.com for this one. Some incredible strength elements here.

now this is a true push-up at 7 seconds in. Anything less is girlie style....more posts to come from mad money.



Type rest of the post here

The Summer of George!

New 4 Week Training Program, "The Summer of George!", starts Sept 12, 2009. For more information CLICK HERE!

For P

The newspapers didn't pay their respects to him correctly: Daily News

After reading what they wrote, I felt sick. It's unnecessary! Was the person that wrote that trying to justify why he was killed?! P started to work out with us last year, better himself and leave his past behind. He was only a year older than me. Everyone has their issues and problems but he did not deserve this. He is a human being first and foremost. P was nothing but nice to me. I stayed up till 5am, missed college and work to make this for him. I never really cry but I shed tears making this for him. This is how we will pay respects to him:



I'm sorry to be writing bad news.

6 Week Summer Training Program!

A one of a kind lifestyle fitness experience.

My friend Mark and I are doing a 6 week training program starting this Sat @ 9am. It costs $150 for the whole program.

All the info is HERE

Livewire, Ilabaca, Phil Doyle and King in NYC!!!

Met up with these parkour and freerunning kings at TSP.

I met Livewire last time he was in New York, but it was more casual. We hung out, trained and explored the city. This time was full out pandemonium. They were filming for a new MTV show and appears that they held nothing back! I must say these guys are way more impressive to see in action in person than on video. INCREDIBLE!!!!





Footage to come!

Japanese Senior's Bodybuilding Champion

Tsutomu Tosaka at 74 years of age

Dreams

First off, what is a dream? It's bigger than just a goal. Dreams are not as specific, measurable or even as realistic as goals. You can consider goals to be the steps along the way. Achieving a DREAM is the FINAL FULFILLMENT of your DESIRE.

I’ve been competing in athletics since I was a little boy. I had many dreams back then. One was to become an expert martial artist. At 17 years of age I reached expert level, started teaching and became a member of an elite martial arts demonstration team. Most recently my dream was to compete in Sasuke in Japan, which is the world’s toughest obstacle course. That is a dream that I did not accomplish, though I was still selected as a finalist.

I want to talk not just about achieving your dreams, but being GREAT while achieving your dreams. Three important things to keep in mind are the PASSION, the STEPS along the way and finally being PREPARED for the UNEXPECTED.

Now I said to be passionate, although it is not necessary, lets look at it this way. You’ve got two football teams that make it to the Super Bowl. One team has a monster for a coach that just screams at the team every practice for the entire season. Then you have the other team that has a great coach that praises and rewards everyone for all the hard work they put in. Both teams made it to the same place right, but which team would you rather be on? I know which one I would. The reason I said it’s not necessary to be passionate is because there are people out there that achieve their dreams but make it more about the end product and less about enjoying the actual journey. I personally would rather be loving the journey and reaching the dream. So don't forget to be passionate in order to be great while trying to achieve your dreams.

So hopefully you see how important it is to have a passion for what you are doing. Lets now talk about the steps along the way.

The very first thing to do is give yourself dates that you want to succeed by. This will help you stay on target. Be very specific; make sure it is measurable and attainable, as well as realistic and relevant with these steps. The journey can be exhausting at times and most people will wait till the end to celebrate, but if you don’t celebrate along the way you can burn out and never even get there. So what you want to do is reward yourself at the end of every milestone.

Finally, be prepared for the unexpected. This is a very crucial aspect of achieving your dreams. Sometimes along the way, it could even be right before you're about to achieve your dream or it could be the first day of the journey, something can happen that occurs as a crisis. It is important to hold onto the vision of your dream because you must see it to achieve it. Things don't always go as planned and many people fail at first. For example Thomas Hearns, the Welterweight Champ of the World with 5 titles all in different divisions, lost his first 10 amateur fights. They were his first fights too, so he had never even had the taste of victory, yet he still had the vision to become the Welterweight Champion of the World.

So remember to be passionate about what you are doing, celebrate your steps along the way and be prepared for the unexpected.

Work hard, but always find ways to make it fun.


-Rick Seedman

First Annual Bar-Commission Bar-B-Q weekend

was a success! So many people came out and we thank each and everyone of you for making this weekend so special!

It was a beautiful event. Zef, Jude, Rick and Sheriff arrived at 430am Saturday morning, on no sleep, to hold down the tables and didn't leave until 10pm. The next day we hit up TSP. Zef got the FULL PLANCHE HOLD! and then went over to Wingate to finish off the day. Long weekend full of no sleep, plenty of food, tons-o-fun and a whole lot of working out.

This vid is a thank you to all who were there, in person and in spirit.



Special thanks to Andy, Zef, Ana, Jude, Rick, Sheriff, Keith, Anthony, Jeffery, Rob, The Tech family, The Phorm family, The Lois family, The Grevenitis family, Redd, Allison, B-Rock, DOC and many more...

First Day of Summer '09

Its been raining in New York for the past month, so the first day of summer wasn't to hot. We made the best of it though. Played in the rain like a bunch of kids. Good sessions!

Hanging out at the dip bar with Guils from France, Anthony aka Nirose9, Zef, Jude and Rick of Bar-barians and Wingate's finest, Brian + the mayor of Wingate, DOC.



a little thank you video from Zakaveli

The First Annual Bar-Commission Bar-B-Q

Video explains it all.



Any further questions contact: barr_up@bar-barians.com

Bar-barians '09 - Jude

This is the long overdue video of Bar-barians co-founder, Jude. He is an incredible individual and a huge part of our bar-family.



Approved by the Bar-Commission

Highland Park

Highland Park's Morning Session and some freestyle. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Harrision, Guils, Rick and the Highland Park crew.

Fan made video

for the one and only Zakaveli. Beat and video made by Metin.



Endless thanks to Metin.

Bar-barians '09

Some action footage from the documentary. Most of the footage was from the May, 25 2009 session at TSP. The rest was from Feb at Wingate. Biggie is 16 years of age. He's Zef's nephew. He came through to show Zef his OAP that he recently attained.



Approved by the Bar-Commission

Hitting the Bars in Korea

James getting money in South Korea. Keep up the hard work bar-brother.

Each One Teach One

Georg, Emelia and friends



Metin and his crew



Check out there Youtube accounts for more videos.

Damien Walters Next Level '09

This video has been all over the web lately, and for good reason! Highlights galore with an awesome beat. This man is the next level of human evolution. Like a secret government experiment that has escaped! lol



and his children are incredible as well!

Advice

We have been receiving many email about how to get started.

It always starts with the basics. Straight reps- pull/chin ups, dips etc. If you're just starting, practice every second day as the rest day really seems to help. Once you feel well conditioned, get creative, start freestyling and then you will be able to just go off of what your body tells you.

Summer is comin

Sunday we were Bar-b-queing on the Bar! lol

Bar-barians hosted a session at TSP. Youtube regulars like D300, Bandana Redd, Little Redd, G.I. Joe, DOC, B-Rock, Cruz, Zef, Jude, and Rick came out to train and hang out.

Who needs weights when you've got D300 on top of you! lol. He put us threw some torture! The Highlandaz threw down some nice 20 min long sets! Wingate's finest showed us how its done Wingate style. The big story though was my man Guills. After seeing the Youtube vids, he just had to join in! Guills made a journey all the way from France to New York city, specifically to train with the bar crews here. He is a b-b-boy and a very strong and fit one to say the least. Can't say enough good things about this guy. Stay tuned for more on this!

"Little" Guiliano

This is the World's Strongest Boy. Leave your thoughts on this.





Here is his father's Youtube channel

I think he's got you beat Sandrak. lol

Bar Talk at Wingate

Here's some footage Redd and his wife put together. Wingate was the place to be that weekend.

Marines Push Ups

We've posted bodyweight training from a variety of sports and disciplines such as parkour, b-boying, rock climbing, martial arts, gymnastics, body building, park workouts etc. We'll lets not forget about the military! There training consists of mostly bodyweight exercises. In the video the Marines demonstrate what is called a Four Count Push Up.

LittleBeastM

shows us what he's got on the only bar in Rotterdam (a soccer goal). Respect

Links

Links to the Bar-Commission's sites:

HarmlemSEALS have been doing a lot of community work lately. Check out their site here

Calisthenics Kingz has some new info on their site with their newest member Kylie. You can check it out here

No Bar, No Problem

Had the pleasure of training with parkour conditioning specialist, Ryan Ford, last year in Colorado. This is an older drill of his but he has many new and creative drills on his Youtube page Demon's Drills

Bar-barians Circuit

People have been requesting a routine to follow, so here you go.

Its a circuit. 3 rounds. Each round should be completed in 8 minutes. The exercises can be changed in order to make it easier or harder as long as there is NO rest between exercises.

-Push ups 30 secs
-Pull-ups- max reps
-Hindu push ups- 30 secs
-Chin ups- max reps
-Squats- 30 secs
-Dips- max reps
-Hanging leg raise- 30 secs

This circuit works most of the major muscles. Always do exercises with your best form. Full ROM. It becomes cardio as well as strength and endurance.

We posted Alain Robert's training a few months back. Here's some in-home training from the incredible "French Spiderman".

Now everyone's got their own home training set ups, but I'm pretty sure this takes the cake!

Bar-barians The Documentary

Thanks to everyone for being so patient. We want to take our time and produce something special. It is a very sentimental project to us.

The documentary will follow our team and show where we have come and where we are taking this. All camera and editing is done by Rick and all music is by Zef. All of us will be featured in it.



Thanks for Watching!

Requirement Video

Bar-barians Requirements from Antokindness

Blind

Would you continue your bodyweight training if you went blind? I sure would. You would still get the most out of it or maybe more. Most of the time you can't see what you are doing anyway and rely on another persons eye for advice.

Erik Weihenmayer does it all. Impressive inspiring man!

Bar-Gloves

Many people ask what type of gloves we use for our workouts. It's a Craftsman glove that can be found at Home Depot or most hardware stores. We've found that serves us best.Eventually we will design a Bar-barians glove exclusively for Bar-work.

Bodyweight Styles

Hindu Yoga and Wrestling bodyweight training video. You may notice similarities to street workouts, capoeria and parkour conditioning.



Kung Fu bodyweight training video. Some impressive strength and flexibility.

More Requirement Videos

Bar-barians Requirements

PULL-UPS MUST BE OUTSIDE OF SHOULDER LENGTH,FULL EXTENSIONS(elbows lock'd out) ON EVERY REP &EVERY SET!, NO BRAKE UPS ,STRAIGHT 40-20-50-5, IF YOU STOP IN BETWEEN A SET IT'S VOIDED. MUSCLE-UPS LAST, NO STOMACH SPOTTING ON M-UPS, NO KIPPING, OFFICAL DIPS BARS,STRAIGHT BARS ONLY. I NOT CHANGING THE RULES. EVERYONE WHO'S POSTING ARE DOING IT THE WAY WE DID NOT INTENDED TO BE CARRIED OUT. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 10MINS. IN MAY IT'S DROPPING TO 6MINS. MUCH RESPECT FOR TRYING. -ZAKAVELI

From our brother in Germany, George.



SKSON04 has a go at it.



And a second run by our brother Rasclot222

Florida Vacation

A few sets in the middle of the video on Las Olas Beach, FL during vacation. Big Bro went from 200lbs. to 170lbs. I'm real proud of him!!! Enjoy

Maximal Strength or Strength Endurance

Which do you prioritize and why. Coach Sommer made an interseting point on this subject on the gymnasticbodies forum:

"Maximal strength is "the peak force developed during a single maximal voluntary contraction". Work capacity is simply a term for attempting to measure the strength endurance being exhibited. The higher one's maximal strength, the greater the potential for demonstrating superior work capacity once the body has adapted to the higher volumes of work output involved. This period of adaptation for increasing work capacity is usually measured in months as opposed to the years required to develop optimum maximal strength.

Maximal strength development should always be the first priority for beginners. As noted above, strength endurance is far easier to develop than maximal strength and its ultimate development will be restricted by the degree of maximal strength which the trainee possesses."

This certainly accords with my experience, have you guys found this to be true?

Injuries

For me they come in bunches. About a month ago I hurt my toe coming down from a handstand in a cramped space, and hitting it on a hard part of the couch. The toe is all better now, but a couple weeks ago I strained an intercostal muscle (one of the muscles on the chest that controls expansion of the rib cage. At first when I injured it I thought I tore my pec, so I rushed to the bathroom to have a look at it in the mirror. I expected to see some nasty sight like this:

Torn Pectoral Muscle


I was relieved to see my ordinay pecs starring back at me. I'm pretty sure I hurt the intercostal because I had been focusing on upper body work due to my toe injury.

For those of us addicted to exercise it is tempting to work around injuries. I think that is fine so long as you don't take the extra time that would have been spent on the injured area and use it to increase focus on the healthy parts. This is not the first time that I doubled my injuries by putting 100% of my focus on a few bodyparts, and I'm guessing others might find the same thing.

How do you guys deal with injury, does it depress you, do you appreciate the break?

World Class Gymnast

with a full time job:



some good training footage, here. Pretty inspirational that he is able to achieve that level of strength even though he doesn't spend all his time in the gym.

Thanks to Coach of gymnasticsbodies for the link

More Requirements Videos

Looks like people can't get enough of the requirements work-out. It is brutal, that's for sure.

Here's Bandanna Redd with another sprint through the exercises:


and Neal Holmes with an improved second try:


Two very hardcore trainers!

Bondi Beach

Recently Marcus posted some new clips from the outdoor gym at Bondi Beach in Australia.

Marcus with 5 one armed chins


Jaz with 27 very good muscle-ups:


I think it's warm there pretty much all year, I hear the climate is similar to So-Cal. Ofcourse it is also summer there too. I'm pretty jealous.

More on Torque, pistols

To make Pistols harder try holding the arms at the sides as demonstrated here by pistol master Steve Cotter:



rather than in front of the body as seen demonstrated here by Jim of Beastskills:



Another option is to do the pistol on a box or a ledge and let the non working leg hang down over the edge rather than straight forward.

Either of these variations makes the movement more challenging by reducing counterbalance and increasing the torque acting on the working joints.

Levi Meeuwenberg Showreel 2009

Here is the most succesful so far of the G4 Ninja Warriors in action:



thanks to Neal, cause I got this and one of the Dominic videos from his favorites

More Dominic Lacasse (human flag master)

another pole dance:



07 freerun showreel:

Another Bar-barians requirements Video

Thanks to Neal Holmes for submitting his go at the requirements. The background track is Fire! Who is that?

Monkeying around

Murdog83 posted this display of primate power, notice it's all on one arm, on the Bar-barian forums:



Apparently he shot the video himself. Thanks for sharing!

Advantages of Bodyweight Training, Torque Sets!

We have talked previously about the benefits of bodyweight training and I'd like to discuss another one of the less appreciated advantages of this form of exercise.

Most people who don't know very much about bodyweight work think that it is limiting in that you can't control how much resistance you are utilizing. At a first pass this would seem to be true, after all you can't change what you weigh right? Well maybe you can over the long-term, but certainly not between sets. This leaves people thinking that bodyweight work would not be appropriate for them because they are either too heavy or too light to get a goo work-out with bodyweight given their strength level.

Fortunately these people are WRONG! Most any bodyweight exercise can be increased or decreased in difficulty by modifying body position and thereby adjusting the torque (<--click this link, it is worth understanding!) and effective resistance.



This can be done throughout a set so that one is continuously working at their maximum possible tension level. Bodybuilders sometimes adjust the weight during a set by taking of plates once they hit failure. This is called a drop-set. Bodyweight exercise allows even finer control though, as it is possible to increase resistance on the eccentric (also know as the negative or lowering portion) of the rep where you can handle more weight and then decrease it on the positive (concentric or lifting phase) where you are weaker. For example in the glute ham raise, one can do the negative with the arms extended overhead and the positive with the arms at the sides. It would also be possible to bend the waist a little more on the negative than on the positive. In addition to this variation one can gradually decrase torque from rep to rep. In this way one can be at the point of muscular failure for the entire set!

This technique is very hard on the body and should probably not be used for every set. Nevertheless I tend to use it all the time, because I can't get enough of the burn. For the time being I'll call these torque sets. Can you guys think of a better name, let me know in the comments. Also I'd be curious to hear if any of you employ this method and on what exercises.

Weird Pull-up Contest

Is this a Man or Woman?



Leave your guesses in the comments

Rich Simpson Bouldering

Some of you might remember Rich Simpson from our previous post on him. Well here he is in action:



(thanks to Rick for finding it)

Old Man Strength

This 63 year old has the body of a 20 year old. It appears his knees are shot but its unbelievable how strong his arms, shoulders, chest, back and abdominals are. He must have a very strong passion to keep training. Can anyone translate?



And this 72 year old is still at it as well.

Little Man

getting $$$$$$$




somebody get him a piggy bank

Dyno records!

Current record (but it looks like there is a n extra push of the wall though)

From the comments

Donald said...

I eat Paleo, and I do intermittent fasting. I usually eat 2 meals a day unless I want to gain some weight. Since I eat Paleo, I cut out all the grains, etc. For my carbs, I used to only eat veggies and fruit for a while, but now post-workout I eat more carb dense foods to replenish glycogen, like sweet potatoes and bananas.

And to answer your question. I don't really "diet" much anymore. I used to actively try to cut down, but I can't recover from workouts on a calorie deficit.

I just ordered some leucine, glutamine, and whey protein. I'm interested in seeing how leucine and glutamine will affect my recovery. I usually am against whey protein, but it's getting difficult to gulf down all the protein I need in 2 meals.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on my diet.
January 24, 2009 2:27 AM
Mad Money said...

We are living in the space age, there's no need for you to make due with paleolithic era sustenance. If you eat more fruits and grains you will have more energy, and need to eat less to feel full.

Some of my favorite carb sources are Dominoes pizza, here's my usual order (lasts approx 5 days):

Order Summary
1 Small(10") Hand Tossed Pizza, Whole: Italian Sausage, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Extra Diced Tomatoes, Extra Cheese, Light Sauce, Ham, Extra Banana Peppers, Extra Onions, Extra Premium Chicken $5.55
1 Small(10") Hand Tossed Pizza, Whole: Green Peppers, Black Olives, Beef, Diced Tomatoes, Cheese, Light Sauce, Ham, Extra Banana Peppers, Onions, Extra Shredded Provolone Cheese, Premium Chicken $5.55
1 Small(10") Crispy Melt Pizza, Whole: Italian Sausage, Beef, Extra Cheddar Cheese, Light Sauce, Ham, Extra Banana Peppers, Onions, Extra Shredded Provolone Cheese, Extra Premium Chicken $5.55

Coupon: Three full size 10-inch Pizzas with Unlimited Toppings for $5.55 each

Subtotal: $16.65
Tax: $1.39
Delivery: $0.00
Total: $18.04


I also like fiber one honey and oat flakes,




fiber one yougurt,



frozen blueberries, mangoes, and raspberries.



For protein midday I usually go with a double quarter pounder with extra onions and pickles and add one packet of hot picante sauce.
January 24, 2009 12:05 PM

Another Bar-barians requirements attempt

Here's Nakmeezy trying the requirements:



Here are the requirements:

-40 dips
-20 pull-ups
-50 push-ups
-5 muscle-ups

All done in 10 minutes, in any order but the muscle-ups must be done LAST.

Also all reps should be full range of motion and each exercise must be completed in a single set.

Perfect Squat

This is the body position at parallel in a normal squat:

.'__
/_
./_

This is the body position at paralell of the Perfect Squat:

'
|_
..|_

In case it is not clear arms are against the sides in the perfect squat but they are extended forwards in the conventional bodyweight squat Another difference is that legs are shoulder width or wider in the conventional squat and they are together for the perfect squat).

The perfect squat is not actually possible, it would require infinite force to sustain. But as you move from the normal squat to the Perfect Squat you will be in effect applying greater and greater force. The only limiting factor is your strength.

When trying this maintain a lot of body tension and go slowly. This will allow you to find the limits of your strength without tipping over.

The principle at work here is torque and you can make similar modifications to make other exercises insanely hard. It definitely works for pull-ups, or lever or planche variations.

Glute Ham Raise (GHR)

I think that the GHR is a very underrated exercise. Here's a video showing three variations:



Now you might be thinking that it is not a bodyweight exercise because it is on a machine and he is using weights. Well the machine is not necessary and neither are the weights. Difficulty may be increased by extending the arms from the body, or beyond that by doing single leg variations. Those without access to the machine can improvise. I could prescribe a specific settup but then you might not have the necessary implements to make that work either. So let me tell you at a conceptual level what is necessary to settup an improvised GHR:

1) something to pad the knees and shins, so the weight is distributed evenly along the lower leg as you do not want all of your weight on your knee caps.

2) a wedge that you can press the soles of your feet against and that anchors your heel or ankle from above (this can be a person sitting on your legs if nothing else is available.

Hopefully I would like to get some pictures of improvised settups that have worked well for me to give you guys some ideas. Rick suggested we buy the domain ghettoglutehamraise.com that would focus on these makeshift devices.

High Protein Diets

So how many of you guys follow typical bodybuilding nutrition? You know 5-8 meals a day 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight?

I used to and I had less muscle and quite a bit more fat. Since I switched to more moderate caloric consumption, basically following the USDA RDA (recommneded daily allowance) for calories and nutrients consumed I have dropped a lot of fat and continued to gain muscle slowly. It's also a hell of a lot easier to manage my eating. Having to eat a "clean" high protein meal every two hours is a real hassle. Am I an outlier or have you guys had similar experiences. I know Rick is basically a vegitarian and it hasn't hurt his progress at all.

Here's a second question, how do you diet, do you eat differently or just less?

When I do I just cut calories but otherwise stick to an instinctive mix of foods. For me one thing that makes sticking to a restricted calorie diet is eating a lot of fiber (I love the various Fiber One products, try the Yogurt!), keeps me full longer and ensures that I get my daily quiet reading time :)

The Perfect Squat

Most people think that a bodyweight squat can only be used to train strength endurance utilizing high reps. What do you guys think, can it be applied to build maximal strength?

I have some techniques that I think can turn a simple bodyweight squat or indeed any bodyweight movement into a strength movement. I want to hear your thoughts though first in the comments because I don't want to prejudice you with my theories.

Why Strength Train?

So why do you guys train for strength, or specifically bodyweight strength? Is it for fun, do you do it to cross-train for a certain sport, or are you involved in a bodyweight strength centric-sport like gymnastics or climbing? Write me back in the comments. I'm curious what brought you guys here.

Before I was into bodyweight strength training I used to love lifting weights (still do). I love the feeling of intense exertion, the rush that comes with it, and getting pumped up a few sizes bigger than normal. The main reason I switched to bodyweight strength was to increase my body control.

I had already been a dancer for many years (mostly popping, the robot and etc.) and I realized that I was being held back by my lack of upper-body strength, flexibility, and balance. Here's a clip of me from 2006:



After a few more years of strength training I would like to extend this style to include hand-balancing elements, pulling, and complete overhead leg extensions. I don't want to be limited by my body. By training it I hope to be limited only by my imagination. Of course this is an unobtainable ideal, but it gives me direction.

I'd love to be able to move like this (AMEE, from the movie Red Planet):

Climbing Sunday

Ok here are some good videos of one arm pull-ups and campus boarding, followed by a link to an interview with one of the world's best climbers, Rich Simpson.



the last guy gets about 9 reps!




Rich Simpson

Rich Simpson in NYC interview

Human Flag

Cool Flag variations from Guinness world record holder Dominic Lacasse

Lords of the Rings

the great ringmen of the past 50 years



Learn more about them after the jump

1. Albert Azaryan aka Azarian (Альберт Азарян)
- born 11 February 1929 in Armenia
- created his own move: front lever to iron cross
- first lord of the rings
1954 World Champion (Rome, Italy)
1958 World Champion (Moscow, Russia)
1956 Olympic Champion (Melbourne, Australia)
1960 Olympic Champion (Rome, Italy)

2. Akinori Nakayama (中山 彰規)
- born 1 March 1943 in Japan
- created his own move: back lever to iron cross
1970 World Champion (Ljubljana, Yugoslavia)
1968 Olympic Champion (Mexico City, Mexico)
1972 Olympic Champion (Munich, Germany)

3. Alexander Dityatin (Александр Дитятин)
- born 7 August 1957 in Russia
- won 8 gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics
1979 World Champion (Fort Worth, USA)
1981 World Champion (Moscow, Russia)
1980 Olympic Champion (Moscow, Russia)

4. Koji Gushiken (具志堅 幸司)
- born 12 November 1956 in Japan
1983 World Champion (Budapest, Hungary)
1984 Olympic Champion (Los Angeles, USA)

5. Dmitry Bilozerchev (Дмитрий Билозерчев)
- born 22 December 1966 in Russia
- in 1985 Dimitri had a car accident and almost lost his leg. Despite the critics he returned to sport and won 1988 Olympics
1983 World Champion (Budapest, Hungary)
1988 Olympic Champion (Seoul, Korea)

6. Yuri Chechi
- born 11 October 1969 in Italy
1996 Olympic Champion (Atlanta, USA)
1993 - 1997: 5x World Champion
http://www.jurychechi.it

7. Dong Zhen
- born 2 February 1977 in China
1999 World Champion (Tianjin, China)

8. Szilveszter Csollany
- born 13 April 1970 in Hungary
2000 Olympic Champion (Sydney, Australia)
2002 World Champion (Debrecen, Hungary)

9. Jordan Jovtchev (Йордан Йовчев)
- born 24 February 1973 in Bulgaria
- competed in 5 Olympic Games (2008, 2004, 2000, 1996, 1992)
2001 World Champion (Ghent, Belgium)
2003 World Champion (Anaheim, USA)
2004 True Olympic Champion (Athens, Greece)

10. Yuri van Gelder
- born 20 April 1983 in Netherlands
- Sergeant in Dutch Army
2005 World Champion (Melbourne, Australia)
2005 European Champion (Debrecen, Hungary)
http://www.yvangelder.nl

11. Chen Yibing (陈一冰)
- born 19 December 1984 in China
2006 World Champion (Aarhus, Denmark)
2007 World Champion (Stuttgart, Germany)
2008 Olympic Champion (Beijing, China)

2008 Gymnastics world cup finals Rings

I think Yuri got robbed, but Vorobyov Olexander started his routine with a realy cool kip to maltese.